Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Slack Workspace Tools agent skill
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The slack-tools skill is a written reference that teaches an AI agent how to work with Slack: the Web API, Block Kit and mrkdwn formatting, scheduled messages, webhooks, slash commands, event subscriptions, and tidy channel habits. It is aimed at developers building Slack bots or alert integrations and at team admins who want consistent channel practices. After this guide you will know what the skill does, how to add it to your agent, how to ask for it, and what it does not do.
Slack Workspace ToolsRightNow-AI/openfang · Apache-2.0 Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download and unzip. Download the ZIP from this page and unzip it so you have a folder containing SKILL.md.
- 2Place the folder. Copy it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or into .claude/skills/ inside a project.
- 3Or upload it in the apps. In the Claude apps, go to Settings → Capabilities → Skills and upload the ZIP.
- 4Ask a Slack task in plain language. Describe what you want, such as a webhook setup or a scheduled reminder, and mention Slack.
- 5Prepare credentials only if needed. If you will connect to a workspace, create the bot token or webhook URL and store it in environment variables, not in code.
- 6Review before running. Check any generated code and message content before it touches a live channel.
What is an agent skill, and what does slack-tools change?
An agent skill is a folder containing a SKILL.md file of instructions that an AI agent can load when a task matches it. The slack-tools skill gives the agent a Slack specialist role and a set of guidelines to follow.
The skill is advice and reference material only. Its file contains no scripts and does not connect to Slack by itself. It grants no access, so on its own it sends no messages and changes no channels.
- Explains how to call Slack Web API methods such as chat.postMessage, conversations.list and users.info
- Describes Block Kit for buttons, dropdowns and sections, and mrkdwn for bold, italic and code
- Covers scheduled messages, incoming webhooks, Workflow Builder, slash commands and event subscriptions
- Sets channel norms: prefixes like #team-, #project-, #alert-, #help-, archiving inactive channels, and avoiding @channel and @here
Install the slack-tools skill
Download the ZIP from this page and unzip it. The skill is a folder containing SKILL.md. Put that folder in one of these locations:
- Personal skills: ~/.claude/skills/
- Project skills: the .claude/skills/ folder inside your project
- Claude apps: upload the ZIP under Settings → Capabilities → Skills
Trigger the skill with natural requests
You do not need a special command. Describe the Slack task in plain language and mention Slack, so the agent recognises the matching instructions. The skill covers building and automating, so requests about those tasks fit best.
- "Draft a Block Kit layout with a button for approving a deploy."
- "Show me how to schedule a reminder with chat.scheduleMessage."
- "Set up an incoming webhook for our CI failure alerts and tell me how to format them."
- "Suggest channel names and topics for a new project team."
- "Write a slash command handler plan for /status that checks our service."
What you need before you connect to Slack
The skill can explain Slack work without any credentials. You need credentials only when you actually connect to a workspace. Keep bot tokens and webhook URLs out of code and out of version control, and store them in environment variables or a secret manager, as the skill recommends.
If you are building an app, the skill points to the Bolt framework for production apps and Socket Mode for development, so you will need Slack API libraries such as Bolt.
- A Slack workspace and app credentials (bot tokens or webhook URLs) if you connect to Slack
- Slack API libraries such as Bolt, if building an app
- Only request the OAuth scopes your app actually needs
Safety notes: scripts and network access
The skill runs no scripts and uses no network access. Everything it does comes from the instructions it gives the agent, so any API call, token handling or message sent happens only through code or tools you run yourself.
Review any code the agent writes before you run it against a live workspace, and do not use @channel or @here in large channels without a genuinely urgent reason.
Tips for getting reliable results
Treat the rate limit and method details as general guidance. The skill gives approximate figures and may be out of date, so check Slack's current API documentation before relying on exact limits. Respect Retry-After headers when your code receives them.
Ask for thread-based discussion and user groups rather than broad mentions, and ask for a Block Kit preview in the Block Kit Builder before wiring a layout into code.
- Verify rate limits and method names against Slack's current docs
- Use the Block Kit Builder (app.slack.com/block-kit-builder) to preview layouts
- Use cursor-based pagination with limit for list endpoints
What people use it for
- Planning a Slack bot with slash commands for a team action such as a status check
- Setting up incoming webhooks so CI/CD or monitoring alerts post to a channel
- Designing Block Kit messages with buttons and sections and previewing them in the Block Kit Builder
- Drafting a channel naming and archiving policy for a team workspace
- Scheduling recurring reminders with chat.scheduleMessage
Frequently asked questions
How do I install the slack-tools agent skill?
Download the ZIP from this page and unzip it. Place the folder containing SKILL.md in ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or in a project's .claude/skills/ folder. In the Claude apps you can instead upload the ZIP under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
Does the slack-tools skill connect to my Slack workspace?
No. The skill contains no scripts and does not connect to Slack by itself. It only gives the agent guidelines and API reference material, and it grants no access to your workspace.
What do I need to use slack-tools?
For reference and planning, nothing beyond an agent that can load skills. To actually connect to Slack you need a workspace with app credentials such as bot tokens or webhook URLs, and for building an app, Slack API libraries such as Bolt.
Is the slack-tools skill free?
The source material provided for this page does not state pricing or licence terms beyond the listed licence, which is Apache-2.0. Check the repository's licence file for the full terms.
Can the skill send messages to Slack for me?
Not on its own. The skill describes API calls and message formatting, but it grants no access and runs no scripts. Any message sent requires code or tools you set up with your own credentials.
Are the rate limits in this skill accurate?
They are general guidance and may be out of date. The skill mentions Tier 1 methods at about one request per second and Tier 2 at about twenty per minute, and tells you to respect Retry-After headers. Confirm exact current limits in Slack's API documentation.
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Our verdict
Choose slack-tools if you are a developer building Slack bots, slash commands or webhook notifications, or an admin who wants consistent channel naming and notification habits. Pick something else if you want an agent that acts directly in your workspace, or if you need exact, current API details, since this skill is general advice that grants no access.
Download the skill